Beijing, Aug 24 (ANI): Former US President Jimmy Carter will reportedly visit North Korea soon to negotiate the release of a US man detained there for illegal entry.
The Foreign Policy magazine has claimed the Nobel Peace Prize laureate has decided to make the trip "within days."
Thirty-one-year-old Aijalon Mahli Gomes was detained by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on January 25, 2010 for entering the country illegally. On April 6, he was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment and asked to pay a fine of about 700,000 dollars.
The United States has repeatedly voiced concern about the health of Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who was jailed for illegally crossing the country's border with China.
On August 2, the Obama administration ruled out the possibilities of sending a special envoy to the DPRK for the release of Gomes.
However, Carter is believed to be travelling in his capacity as a private citizen, and no US government officials would reportedly accompany him as the Obama administration desperately wants to avoid conflating the trip with its current stance toward the DPRK, the report said.
"Carter's visit should not be seen as a change in US policy toward Pyongyang," Xinhua quoted the report, as saying.
In March this year, during a visit to Seoul, Carter urged South Korea and the United States to hold direct talks with Pyongyang, saying a failure to negotiate nuclear disarmament might lead to a "catastrophic" war. (ANI)
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